Uni High Reads

A book review blog of the Uni High Library

14 New Books for You!

The semester may be halfway over, but the library is just getting started on bringing you new reading material! We’ve been ordering books right and left and finally our efforts have paid off. Today we received fourteen — yes, you heard right — 14…one four…new books!! Check out their descriptions below.

FICTION

Now, Conjurers by Freddie Kölsch ◉

November 1999. North Dana, Massachusetts.

Nesbit Nuñez discovers the partially devoured body of Bastion Attia: star quarterback, secret witch, and Nesbit’s even-more-secret boyfriend.
No one knew why brilliant, gentle Bastion lived his life by a seemingly arcane set of rules, including a strange manner of speech and an inability to say his own name.

Now the remaining members of North Coven—Nesbit, Dove, Drea, and Brandy—vow to get answers. Nothing can prepare them for what they uncover: Bastion had been locked in a terrifying battle of wits and wills with something living deep beneath an ancient mausoleum in the local cemetery.

North Coven must confront the red-gloved monster that took piece after piece of Bastion, that he fought until his last breath. Not knowing that Bastion left behind the key to its destruction . . .

Find this book at Uni – Fiction K834no OR Request it here! P.S. Ask Ms. Arnold to share her review of Now, Conjurers with you.

 

Road Home by Rex Ogle ◉

This final, essential chapter in Rex Ogle’s memoir trilogy recounts being forced from his home and living on the streets after his conservative father discovered he was gay. When Rex was outed the summer after he graduated high school, his father gave him a choice: he could stay at home, find a girlfriend, and attend church twice a week, or he could be gay―and leave. Rex left, driving toward the only other gay man he knew and a toxic relationship that would ultimately leave him homeless and desperate on the streets of New Orleans. Here, Rex tells the story of his coming out and his father’s rejection of his identity, navigating abuse and survival on the streets. Road Home is a devastating and incandescent reflection on Rex’s hunger―for food, for love, and for a place to call home―completing the trilogy of memoirs that began with the award-winning Free Lunch.

Find this book at Uni – Fiction Og5ro OR Request it here!

 

Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley ◉

Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life … so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.

Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning a prestigious internship on a movie set filming in Alaska, and finds herself on a luxury yacht alongside pop star Paris Grace, actress sisters Effie and Miri Knight, Olympic gymnast Rosalind Torres, and social media influencer Celia Jones. Liv tries to find common ground with her famous companions, but just as the group starts to bond, a violent storm wrecks their vessel, stranding them on an island in the North Pacific Ocean.

Among the threats of starvation and exposure, they learn there is a predator lurking in the forest, unlike anything they’ve seen before—until they begin to see it in themselves. Every injury they suffer on the island causes inexplicable changes in their bodies. With little hope for rescue and only each other as their final tether to humanity, can the girls endure the ominous forces at work on the island? Or will they lose themselves to their darker natures?

Find this book at Uni – Fiction M128ba OR Request it here!

 

ASAP by Axie Oh ◉

Sori has worked her whole life to become a K-pop idol, until she realizes she doesn’t want a life forever in the spotlight. But that’s not actually up to Sori—she’s caught between her exacting mother’s entertainment company and her father’s presidential aspirations. And as the pressure to keep her flawless public image grows, the last person she should be thinking about is her ex-boyfriend.

Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she can’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most. . . .

So when Nathaniel finds himself rocked by scandal, Sori offers him a hideaway with her. And back in close quarters, it’s hard to deny their old feelings. But when Sori gets an opportunity to break free from her parent’s expectations, she will have to decide: Is her future worth sacrificing for a second chance at love?

Find this book at Uni – Fiction Oh11as OR Request it here!

 

The Breakup List by Adib Khorram ◉

Jackson Ghasnavi is a lot of things—a techie, a smoothie afficionado, a totally not obsessive list-maker—but one thing he’s not is a romantic. And why would he be? He’s already had a front row seat to his parents’ divorce and picked up the pieces of his sister Jasmine’s broken heart one too many times.

No, Jackson is perfectly happy living life behind the scenes—he is a stage manager, after all—and keeping his romantic exploits limited to the breakup lists he makes for Jasmine, which chronicle every flaw (real or imagined) of her various and sundry exes.

Enter the senior swim captain turned leading man that neither of the Ghasnavi siblings stop thinking about. Not that Jackson has a crush, of course. Jasmine is already setting her sights on him and he’s probably—no, definitely—straight anyway.

So why does the idea of eventually writing a breakup list for him feel so impossible?

Find this book at Uni – Fiction K5286br OR Request it here!

 

Chronically Dolores by Maya Van Wagenen ◉

Dolores Mendoza is not thriving. She was recently diagnosed with a chronic bladder condition called interstitial cystitis. The painful disease isn’t life-threatening, but it is threatening to ruin her life.

Just when things seem hopeless, Dolores meets someone poised to change her fate. Terpsichore Berkenbosch-Jones is glamorous, autistic, and homeschooled against her will by her overprotective mother. After a rocky start, the girls form a tentative partnership. Beautiful, talented Terpsichore will help Dolores win back her ex-best friend, Shae. And Dolores will convince Terpsichore’s mom that her daughter has the social skills to survive public school. It seems like a foolproof plan, but Dolores isn’t always a reliable narrator, and her choices may put her in danger of committing an unforgivable betrayal.

Find this book at Uni – Fiction V38ch OR Request it here!

 

The Breakup Artists by Adriana Mather, illustrations by BooBoo Stewart ◉

August and Valentine, seventeen-year-old best friends, run a business called Summer Love, Inc. They hire themselves out to unhappy parents whose kids are in bad relationships, adopting fake identities and going undercover to break up these relationships by any means necessary.

Valentine, the brains of the operation, believes that they’re making the world a better place by steering people away from a relationship precipice so they can someday find true love. But for August, every case is personal–another chance to prove that true love doesn’t exist. He blames his sister’s manipulative boyfriend for her death, and–unlike Valentine–he doesn’t believe in soul mates. No, he thinks the idea of falling head over heels is ridiculous at any age.

But then August meets Ella, who suddenly turns everything he thought he believed about love upside down. The problem is that she’s their new case, which means that everything he’s told her about himself is a lie–including his name.

Find this book at Uni – Fiction M4208br OR Request it here!

 

NON-FICTION

Curating Community Collections: A Holistic Approach to Diverse Collection Development by Mary Schreiber and Wendy K. Bartlett ◉

Curating Community Collections provides librarians with the tools they need to understand the results of diversity audits and to formulate a reasonable, achievable plan for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion not only in the collection itself, but also in library collection policies and practices. Information on ways to make diversity, equity, and inclusion part of a library’s everyday workflow will help ensure the sustainability of these principles.

Mary Schreiber and Wendy Bartlett teach readers how to increase the number of diverse materials in their collections and make them more discoverable to library patrons through the implementation of a community collections program. Stories from librarians around the United States and Canada who are auditing and improving the diversity of their collections add broad, scalable perspectives for libraries of any size, budget, and mission. Action steps provided at the end of each section offer a practical road map for all types of libraries to curate a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community collection.

Find this book at Uni – 025.21 Sch724cu OR Request it here! P.S. Staff…this book would be a great read for you!

 

Equity Now: Justice, Repair, and Belonging in Schools by Tyrone C. Howard ◉

If not now, when?

Anchored in the tenets of justice, repair, and belonging, Equity Now is a comprehensive guide for educators that emphasizes the urgent need for immediate action to dismantle systemic barriers in education. Aimed at K-12 professionals at all levels of the education system, the book urges us to move beyond individual efforts by applying an equity lens to our policies and practices.

Through honest, sustained, and critical dialogues in “brave spaces,” educators can address disparities and create equity-centered school communities. Equity Now proposes a solutions-oriented approach to fostering welcoming, affirming, responsive, and rigorous learning environments. Author Tyrone C. Howard, one of the leading authorities on issues related to racial inequality in our schools, provides

An equity framework grounded in justice, repair, and belonging A clear vision of equity-focused leadership Essential practices, strategies, and resources for classroom teachers Suggestion for engaging parents, families and caregivers in schools Recommendations for engaging data in an equity based way Reflection questions and additional resources at the close of each chapter. This book is a must-read for educators, administrators, and policymakers who are committed to creating conditions in which our children can reach their highest potential.

Find this book at Uni – 379.260973 H831eq OR Request it here! P.S. Staff…this is another great book to check out!

 

How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music edited by Alison Fensterstock, introduction by Ann Powers ◉

Turning the Tables, launched in 2017, has revolutionized recognition of female artists, whether it be in best album lists or in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How Women Made A Revolutionary History from NPR Music brings this impressive history and fascinating reshaping to the page and includes material draws from more than fifty years of NPR’s coverage of great musical heroes and intriguing creators. This book is a must-have for music fans, songwriters, feminist historians, and those interested in how artists think and work.

Joan Baez talking about nonviolence as a musical principle in 1971. Dolly Parton’s favorite song and the story behind it. Patti Smith describing art as her “jealous mistress” in 1974. Nina Simone, in 2001, explaining how she developed the edge in her voice as a tool against racism. Taylor Swift talking about when she had no idea if her musical career might work. Odetta on how shifting from classical music to folk allowed her to express her fury over Jim Crow.

This incomparable hardcover volume is a vital record of history destined to become a classic and a great gift for any music fan or creative thinker.

Find this book at Uni – 780.82 H83 OR Request it here! P.S. Interested in books on music? Ask Paul for recommendations.

 

Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes by Gail Jarrow ◉

After millions of people died during World War I and from the 1918 influenza pandemic, the popularity of Spiritualism soared. Desperate to communicate with their dead loved ones, the bereaved fell prey to extortion by fraudulent mediums and fortune-tellers.

But magician Harry Houdini wasn’t fooled. He recognized the scammers’ methods as no more than conjurer’s tricks. Angered by the way people were exploited, Houdini set out to expose the ghost hoaxes. In his stage show, he revealed the fraudsters’ techniques, and he used a team of undercover investigators to collect proof of séance deceptions. His head secret agent was a young New York private detective and disguise expert, Rose Mackenberg—a woman who continued her ghost-busting career for decades, long after Houdini’s death in 1926.

Ideal for young readers and adults who are drawn to the worlds of psychics and magicians, this riveting book uncovers a little-known chapter in American history and details the ways people were (and still are) deceived by mediums and fortune-tellers.

Find this book at Uni – 793.8092 J296sp OR Request it here!

 

Visualizing Palestine: A Chronicle of Colonialism & the Struggle for Liberation edited by Aline Batarseh, Jessica Anderson, and Yosra El Gazzar ◉

This striking collection of more than 200 full-color infographics is a vivid portrait of Israeli settler colonialism and the Palestinian struggle for freedom.

As a new generation of movement-builders seek to understand Israel’s brutal, illegal occupation of Palestine, Visualizing Impact’s vivid and informative graphics reveal deep truths about the decades-long Palestinian struggle for freedom.

The infographics present more than just colorful, accessible, and thoughtfully arranged, the oppression they document in stark detail dovetails with stories of perseverance and strength. From the history of Zionist settlement to the depopulation of Palestinian villages; from the construction of an apartheid wall to the destruction of olive trees; from hunger strikes to mass protests to boycotts, Visualizing Palestine’s graphics are powerful, comprehensive, and demand our attention.

Find this book at Uni – Q 956.053 V829 OR Request it here! P.S. Ask Harrison to share his review of Visualizing Palestine with you.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Uprooted by Ruth Chan ◉

Ruth Chan loves her hometown in Toronto, hanging out with her best friends for life, and snacking on ketchup flavored potato chips, which are the best. What Ruth doesn’t love is having to move to Hong Kong after her dad gets a new job there.

Her mom is excited to reunite with her family, but it’s not the same for Ruth. In Hong Kong, her classes are harder, her Cantonese isn’t good enough, and her parents are never around. Ruth feels lonely and completely uprooted.

But as Ruth’s dad tells stories about her family, about how they relied on their strength, courage, and each other to survive the most difficult times, Ruth realizes that she too can be strong. Gradually, she puts down roots, knowing that home will always be where her heart is.

Find this book at Uni – GN C36up OR Request it here!

 

Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding by Maia Kobabe and Sarah Peitzmeier, PhD ◉

A graphic guide to chest binding with real-life stories and research-backed advice from bestselling Gender Queer author Maia Kobabe and University of Michigan professor Sarah Peitzmeier.

Breathe arose from the need for an evidence-based resource for folks considering chest binding as gender-affirming care. Its original form was a 32-page digital-only ‘zine, but Peitzmeier and Kobabe saw potential for reaching a wider audience with an expanded version with more art and more exploration of what the research really shows about binding, designed to be easily readable as a printed book. This is the result.

To create Breathe, Peitzmeier and her research team interviewed many people of different ages and backgrounds about their journeys with binding, and then she and Kobabe combined excerpts from those interviews with evidence-based resources on binding into this extremely accessible book. The result is both a practical resource for trans and nonbinary folks and an engaging and perspective-broadening read for anyone interested in what it means to be on a journey of expressing one’s gender in ways that are joyful, healthy, and affirming.

Find this book at Uni – GN K791br OR Request it here!

 

*** Book summaries courtesy of Goodreads!


Posted by price26 at 3:37 pm